


Underneath the Mask

by gAy_p0thath0



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: AU, Angst, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Fluff, Gay, M/M, POV Simon, Watford (Simon Snow)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 00:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14069364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gAy_p0thath0/pseuds/gAy_p0thath0
Summary: When Simon attends a masquerade for the senior classes at Watford he is seduced by a flirting stranger. Later that night, when Simon discovers the stranger’s identity, his life changes forever.





	Underneath the Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Sup, this is my very first fanfiction so please be nice! Also, my first language isn't English so if any incorrect grammar occurs that is why :)  
> Okay, let's just pretend Simon couldn't recognise Baz because he obviously would because he is ~obessed~.
> 
> And lastly, none of these characters are mine; they belong to Rainbow Rowell. The song featured isn't mine either, it's Whitney Houstons So Emotional.  
> If you enjoyed the fanfiction, please consider leaving kudos or commenting!

**Simons POV:**

When I first heard about the masquerade ball as the senior party I thought the idea was ridiculous and I wasn’t the only one; Baz complained about it for weeks after it was announced but he was probably excited to show off his expensive suit. But as the party came closer, I grew more and more fond of the idea. I went shopping for a mask and a suit (because I’ve never had one) with Penny on a weekend. Surprisingly, I found one that fit quite well with a cobalt coloured tie, which matched with my royal blue mask (half faced) with dark blue flowers on the right side. I looked good if I had to say it myself. I hadn’t seen Baz’ outfit at all but he had probably planned some extravagance, like always, to impress the ladies. Stupid Baz.

On the day of the masquerade the air was thick with expectation and I even caught Baz smiling a bit, which was unusual. Penny squealed at the end of the day, as she saw the beginning of the beautiful decorations in the dining hall which was supposed to be transformed into a more luxurious ballroom. After we parted I was in a great mood and I could feel my magic in my fingertips from just pure joy. I went to my (our) room to take a long bath, but to my surprise Baz was nowhere to be found. Maybe, he decided to skip the party after all. I shrugged, it was not like I cared. At least I didn’t have to fight with him over the bathroom.

After I put a great effort into taming my copper coloured hair, it didn’t look half bad. With my mask on, I looked at the mirror and couldn’t help being shocked; I barely recognised myself. I chuckled as I tucked an errant string of hair back in place. The blues of mask and the, for once, well knitted tie went perfect with my eyes. Not bad at all. For a second I thought about Baz, but I ushered it away before I could register it. It was quite usual that he wouldn’t come to an arrangement just to show his class and beauty, even though he weren’t interested in anybody. I shrugged it off again and tried my best to shove him out of my mind. With a last look in the mirror and fixing of my suit, I headed out of the door and down the stairs.

A heavy stream of students was making their way into the White Chapel. It was a pretty abnormal sight, to say the least; masked students with overly fancy suits and dresses in all the rainbows colours. Light was flooding out of the chapels gates, casting everything else in shadow. I had to stand a moment in awe to just take in the amazing sight. Sadly, I had to meet Penelope by the Cloisters right before the party began, so I didn’t have time to stand and stare. Right before I tore my eyes away from the crowd, I caught something out of the corner of my eye; a young masked (of course) man was leaning against a tree around 30 meters away from me.

He was beautiful for the lack of better words; his mask was a deep red with golden contours at the edges and with big crimson feathers sprouting from between his eyes. His jawline was sharp and his face looked pale in the moonlight. And his eyes… even at this distance I could sense the granite grey eyes filled with light. They were almost glowing in the dark. And one more thing; he was looking at _me_.

My cheeks got flustered immediately and I felt a stab (without the pain and more pleasant) in my lower stomach. Something about his eyes made me unable to look away and I could sense him scanning me with his eyes from head to toe. And after a while, a cocky smirk appeared on his light lilac lips. He seemed very familiar, but at the same time so different from anything that I had ever seen before, like somebody that I had seen in a dream. I tried to smile back but it seemed that every muscle in my body had been hit by lightning and I stood stiffly like I was enchanted by him, like a very powerful Stand your ground. I simply couldn’t stop starring at him even though it probably seemed impolite. I barely heard Penny when she said my name and I only turned my gaze away from the stranger, when she shook my shoulder;

“Simon? Are you okay? Great snakes, you look like you have seen a ghost.”

She had a light pink mask on with a white blonde dress that was a wee too loose. She looked different from normal, but I had no trouble recognizing her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just looking at….”

I trailed off, as I looked back at where the stranger had been; Gone, simply vanished into thin air. She looked worryingly at me again;

“We were supposed to meet at the Cloisters, yeah? I got worried.”

I sighed, as I remembered:

“I’m so sorry Penny. I was uhhh… caught up on something,”

She pouted, mostly for fun. I reached out for her in what was more like a parody of a gentlemanly gesture;

“Care to accompany me?”

I said in a dumb British accent. After she grabbed my arm, we giggled before making our way to the masquerade. I hadn’t forgotten about the (incredibly handsome) stranger of course, but I didn’t think that Penny was fit for talking about something like _that._

When we emerged from the entrance I was breathless; the whole dining room had been transformed into a big ballroom (like promised) with floating roses and fairy lights covering the ceiling. The tables were dressed in red cloth and had rose petals scattered around the punch bowls. Candles from the big chandelier lit up the room in a dim way, making everybody’s masks look surrealistic and dreamlike. And speaking of… as my eyes scanned the room, they fell on a mask that was impossible to forget; _him_. My heart starting racing and all the air in my lungs disappeared. I stopped very abruptly which almost made Penny trip.

“Simon, what are you doi…”

He was standing on the other side of the room with his hand to his chin, almost like he was bored. He didn’t seem to have noticed me yet, which, depending on how you saw it, was a good thing. I swallowed before reacting and then replied with a simple “Sorry.” Something was off about him; he was almost too perfect.

I remained as far away from the stranger as possible to avoid embarrassing myself, but something kept trying to draw me in. Maybe he had already seen me but didn’t take further interest in me. I didn’t even know him so it didn’t mean anything (or that is what I told myself). I danced (not really) and talked with my friends to distract myself. I tried not to look to much at him but it was honestly very hard. And when I looked up at him for one of my stolen looks, he was looking back. I might just had had a fit right on the spot. Curse those eyes to hell. I hadn’t ever thought grey eyes could be so stunning and have so much dept. His skin and hair was smooth in this light the hair looked like a very warm grey. I could hear my pulse in my ears as he licked his lips like a predator. Penny tucked my sleeve;

“Who is that?”

She whispered, pointing to the stranger.

“I thought you would know. I haven’t seen him before,”

‘I think’, I silently added.

“Well, he has been starring at us since we arrived, so he must know you?”

Penny asked, even though she knew I couldn’t give her answers.

The few seconds that I had been distracted was apparently enough for him, because he suddenly stood right in front of me. I nearly jumped; it was kind of scary how fast he was, almost inhumane.

“You scared the living shit out of me!”

I said. He simply kept smirking;

“I intended to. I know how to make an entrance.”

His voice was very low but I still heard it over the loud music and it sounded oddly familiar. He looked even better up close, if possible.

“May I have this dance?”

He asked. Not even a trace of nervousness. Incredible.

“Of course,”

I blushed like crazy but luckily my mask covered most of it. He reached out for my hand with his own which I gladly took. It was cold but the skin was incredibly soft. I brushed over it just for a second but I didn’t have that much time to linger on it. He lead me to the dancefloor and with big smiles on our faces, we began dancing to the music. I looked back at Penny, who gave me excited thumbs up. I gave thumbs up back to her, before returning to him.

The music was loud, but whoever made the playlist clearly had great music taste. We hit the dancefloor just as my favourite song, _So Emotional_ , came on. The stranger (well, he wasn’t that much of a stranger anymore) moved so gracefully. We were still holding hands and I realised that I was dancing with _him._

_Living in a world of fantasies, I can’t get you out of my head,_

I was sure my skin was glowing because it felt like my magic could go off on any given moment (but in a good way).

_I remember the way that we touch I wish I didn’t like it so much,_

I caught the moment and asked what was on my mind:

“I’m sorry, but who are you? I haven’t seen you around,”

I yell over the music. Dancing bodies were all around us, pushing us even closer together (I didn’t mind).

_I get so emotional baby, Every time I think of you,_

He laughed;

“Are you sure? I have certainly seen _you_ ,”

If I didn’t blush before I certainly did now, my face was way too hot. But he didn’t answer my question.

_I get so emotional baby, ain’t it shocking what love can do,_

I shrugged before I said anything;

“Quite, I am sure I would remember you.”

My shoulder was touching his chest and it felt like my shoulder was sparkling with electricity. But it was way too crowded in here and I felt like I couldn’t breathe normally.

“Could we maybe, eh, move outside?”

He could probably hear the light panic in my voice, because his expression (what I could see of it) changes. Still with a smile on his lips, he replies;

“Sure.”

As we made our way to the outside area, the music got slower. Almost everybody was inside so we had lots of space. I automatically pulled him closer and rested my arms on his shoulders and his hands found my hips.

“You know who I am then? That is kind of unfair, really.”

I was so close to him, I could feel his warm breath on my face. He gazed at my lips so fast, I wasn’t sure if he had, before looking me in the eyes.

“How couldn’t I? I could feel your magic across the lawn if I tried, Simon,”

Hearing him say my name gave me chills down my spine. We swayed slowly to the music.

“I don’t even know if that is a compliment or an insult,”

He laughed and I joined in.

“Take what you want from it,” he smiled.

  
“So, you won’t tell me who you are?”

The moonlight gave his skin an unnatural glow and I touched the back of his neck with my thumb. His hairs rose.

“You probably wouldn’t be dancing with me if you found out,” he swallowed. “No thank you.”

“You enjoy dancing with me, is that what you are trying to tell me? I’m flattered.”

The part of his cheeks I could see got red.

“Yeah, even though you stepped on my foot before,”

I shrugged; “Sorry, can’t please everyone,”

His laugh filled my ears again; it was very light-hearted and I considered recording of it, so I could hear it on repeat for the rest of my life.

“Well, who ARE you pleasing then?”

This conversation turned intense in just a few sentences but I wasn’t uncomfortable. Not at all.

“Myself,” I said.

He didn’t notice as I loosened the red silk bow on his back head. His eyes were so focused on my face, he barely noticed as I slipped off his mask and threw it carelessly to the ground.

“Baz?” I whispered.

It was actually kind of stupid of me to not notice it; I had lived with him for almost 8 years and I couldn’t recognize him because of a mask? I almost had to laugh out loud because of my obliviousness. Second; did this mean I was attracted to Baz? My enemy? He was so beautiful, I could almost forget about all the years of snarls and evil comments. Damn, I really _am_ in love with him. And did that mean Baz was in love with me too? He had danced with me and he knew who I was. The situation was quite funny, I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. Baz looked startled to say the least, almost betrayed. His eyes went blank with tears? I had never seen Baz cry before, I almost had dismissed that he could.

“Baz?” I repeated.

Baz snarled at me before he tried to pull away but I grabbed him tightly.

“Baz, chill, it’s okay.”

His hands tried to loosen my grip on him but it was in vain.

“No, it isn’t, Snow. Let me go,”

All his softness from before was gone, but I wouldn’t let him go and he knew that. No one, not even him, could move me when I was determined. I moved my face closer to his to emphasise what I was going to say to him and cornered up against the wall to the White Chapel.

“Baz,”

I moved my head so he couldn’t avoid my eye contact and he stalled. I reached up to my own mask with one hand while still holding him back with my other hand. I tore it off, still looking him in the eye, and it landed at our feet. His eyes were big and now that I was close, I could see that his eyes not only were grey but also dark blue at the edges. Baz was so beautiful and it puzzled me how I hadn’t seen him like this before; how I hadn’t thought about how perfect he was before. And most importantly how I hadn’t thought about how much I wanted to touch his lips with my own.

I ran my hand through Baz’ long raven coloured hair. I liked having him cornered like this, pinned against the wall, so I knew where he was and what he was doing. “Simon,” he whispered, almost like a plea.

 

I leaned even more towards him, so our bodies touched. My magic was flowing in my veins and in my fingertips eagerly and impatiently. Baz’ face was completely red, which was quite unusual (he was a vampire after all). I finally tiptoed and slammed my mouth into his. Baz froze when my lips hit his cold ones. I don’t think he had expected me to do, what I did, but after a while he started to respond. I licked his lips with my tongue and kept pushing closer and closer until I couldn’t get further. His body was against mine and I could feel his muscles underneath his suit. Closer, closer, closer. Baz’ tongue was in my mouth and he gently pushed me backwards with the sheer force of kissing.

When we finally pulled back, out of breath, I studied his face for changes; his face had a light blush, which suited him quite well, and his mouth was open, huffing after air. I could see the tip of Baz’ shiny white fangs. I went in to kiss him again but he stopped me. Instead he grabbed me by the shoulders, and for a moment I thought he was going to push me, but instead he swung me around so I had my back against the wall (it only worked because it took me by surprise).

Then Baz’ removed one of his hands from my shoulder and put it up against my cheek before kissing me again. I could feel his hands on my neck and in my hair (in a normal situation I would think he was trying to choke me). He (accidently) bit down on my lip and I (accidently) moaned a little too loud against his lips. I broke free from the kiss to instinctually try to stop the sound but Baz just laughed.

“Hey! Even though you are a vampire, you can’t just bite me,”

He raised his eyebrows;

“It didn’t sound like you didn’t enjoy it,”

I blushed and even though I could feel my lip bleeding, he wasn’t wrong.

I slammed into him again. My body was a firework of warmth and excitement. I let myself explore his body and ran a hand up under his shirt. Baz’ stomach was cold and muscular and my hand traced the curve of his muscles. He moaned and the sound was like music to my ears. His hands were on my back, gripping me almost like he hung unto me for his life. When we stopped, I asked, jokingly;

“Is it always like that?”

Baz smirked and that smirk was going to be the death of me.

“Don’t ask me, I haven’t tried it before, but you have sat unfair expatiations now,”

He kissed a mole on my neck.

“So, you are okay with this? With us?”

he whispered, like he was afraid that I would turn him down. I could never do that, not after tonight.

“Of course, love. I didn’t realise before tonight, but I have liked you for a long time, I think,”

I had never seen Baz so happy; it was like seeing a fire light up in his eyes.

“I have wanted this since I met you. I thought it was going to kill me,”

He rested his head on my shoulder and I ran a hand through his hair, like I had wished to do for so long, but I hadn’t realised before that night.

“You thought about frenching me when you were 11 years old?”

I laughed at him, even though this moment were kind of serious.

“I’m twisted, okay, leave my 11 years-old self be, you tool,”

I took his hand. “Pervert,” I growled.

“A pervert you just snogged willingly,” Baz snarled back.

After keeping a straight face for a couple of seconds, I began to giggle. Baz joined in and after a while we were both wheezing on the floor.

“I don’t even remember why we are laughing,”

Baz said out of breath, while clutching his stomach.

“Neither do I,” I snort.

We were still holding hands, on the ground, even though it was freezing. We both looked up on the stars that shined from a clear night sky. It illuminated Baz’ beautiful face and his jawline looked sharp enough to cut someone. I rolled over and used my elbows as support so I could study his face from above. In just one evening I had fallen in love with my worst enemy and snogged him. The night had been quite eventful to say the least. I traced a finger on his collarbone and he leaned up to kiss my neck.

“Maybe we should go inside, you are going to catch a cold,”

Baz suggested. He probably noticed me shivering but it wasn’t only because of the chilly floor.

“How about you? You can catch a cold too,” I wondered.

“Vampires can’t get sick, idiot,”

Baz said and began to rise to his feet. He reached for me with his hand. ‘Did he just admit he is a vampire?’ I thought silently to myself but neither the less I took Baz’ outstretched hand. We silently left our masks and the party behind as we headed towards the Mummers House.


End file.
